Authentic Coquito - Sense & Edibility (2024)

Authentic Coquito is a traditional Christmas drink popular amongst Puerto Ricans with simple ingredients like coconut milk, warm spices, and rum. It is a must for any Puerto Rican holiday celebration and one that excites even non-Puerto Ricans.

This recipe was originally published in October 2018. This update includes a quick video and a link to my YouTube video!

What Is Coquito?

Coquito originated in Puerto Rico, though many other Caribbean islands serve a version of it. Haiti has cremas, Trinidad and Tobago has Coconut Ponche De Creme, and Jamaica has coconut rum punch. Coquito is popular in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, with many different versions of the recipe. Mine is the best, though.

Coquito means “little coconut” in Spanish and is a holiday drink typically served from Thanksgiving through Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes) in Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean. Though it’s most often served during the holiday season, you can serve it any time of the year. The original coquito recipe was an alcoholic beverage made with fresh coconut milkandpitorro (cane sugar moonshine). Sugar cane smoothed out the burn from the pitorro.

Right around Halloween, Puerto Ricans begin brewing a big batch of coquito to give it time to cure for their holiday parties. This coconut-based drink, along with many of our traditional foods, are staples at each family gathering. Christmas time, especially, is when you’ll see us enjoying a glass of cold coquito (maybe two or three).

Does It Contain Eggs?

While some people say this is a “Puerto Rican eggnog,” that’s inaccurate since authentic Puerto Rican coquito doesn’t contain eggs. You can turn this into a coconut eggnog with rum, but an authentic coquito is not made with eggs. Adding eggs to the coquito in Puerto Rico turns it into ponche. That said, each family has their own recipe, which may or may not contain eggs.

What Ingredients Are In Coquito?

The main ingredients in this coquito recipe are full-fat coconut milk, a spice tea, cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, light rum, gold or dark rum, spiced rum, pure vanilla extract (optional), ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.

The best way to make coquito is with freshly squeezed coconut milk because it gives it a smoother and less viscous taste than one made with a ton of canned milk. That said, if you don’t have the time or desire to make coconut milk at home, you can use evaporated coconut milk from the can.

Additionally, there are a few different varieties to make this an alcohol-free coquito, a vegan version, or to turn it into a dairy-free coquito recipe.

What’s The Purpose Of The Spice Tea?

Flavoring the coquito with a warm spice tea adds extra flavor while maintaining an appealing color. Adding the same amount of spices in their ground forms causes the drink to become murky and forms a sludge at the bottom of the glass bottle.

Add coconut water, one large cinnamon stick (or 3 small sticks), star anise, whole cloves, allspice berries, and a split vanilla bean to a pot. You can omit the vanilla bean if you don’t have one and add vanilla extract to the blender with the rums later.

You can also use a box of coconut water if you don’t have fresh, or you can replace it with plain water.
Bring the water to a boil over high heat and allow it to boil for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the spices to steep in the hot water for 10-15 minutes.

After 10 minutes of steeping, strain the tea into a blender and add the cream of coconut. It’s helpful if the spice tea is still warm so it can melt the fat cap that usually tops the cream of coconut. If your tea feels cool to the touch, heat it again until it steams, then add it to the blender or a bowl with the cream of coconut. Gradually whisk in the warm tea into the egg yolks, if you’re adding them, now, as well. Press the paste from the vanilla bean into the tea in the blender after straining the spice tea into the blender.

I prefer to use Coco Lopez cream of coconut because it has a prominent, less tinny coconut flavor. Cream of coconut isnotthe same as a can of coconut cream. The latter contains no sugar, whereas the cream of coconut is sweetened, so don’t make the mistake of using that.

How Do I Make Coquito?

Add the coconut milk, condensed milk, all three rums, ground cinnamon, and the nutmeg to the blender with the spice tea and cream of coconut. You can add canned coconut milk to the blender and the rest of the ingredients if you want a richer, creamier-tasting coquito.

Blend the ingredients for 1 minute on medium-low speed until smooth.

How Do I Make This Dairy-Free?

You can make dairy-free or vegan coquito by replacing the sweetened condensed milk with condensed coconut milk. You can use soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk if you decide to replace the canned coconut milk in this recipe with evaporated milk. I would stick with using the coconut milk since that makes it dairy-free (and vegan) without a bunch of replacements.

Don’t add eggs if you want to make this a vegan coquito recipe.

Do I Have To Use Three Different Rums?

You can replace the gold and spiced rum in this recipe with light rum if you prefer to keep it simple. I prefer the complex flavors the darker rums add to the coquito, so I always use them.

You can also make a more potent version by using 151. This type of rum is an over-proofed spirit and will give it more kick. Coquito should be made with Puerto Rican rum or, at the very least, a Caribbean rum. Palo Viejo, Don Q, Ron del Barrilito, or Bacardí, which is Cuban-born, are rums made in Puerto Rico.

Can I Make This Non-Alcoholic?

To make virgin coquito, replace the rums with more coconut milk or half-coconut milk and half-coconut water (or regular water) or more spice tea. Virgin coquito has a shorter shelf-life because there’s no alcohol to ward off bacteria. You’ll have to consume the virgin drink within 10 days of making it. I recommend storing it in the refrigerator instead of in the refrigerator door to extend its life, as well. The constant fluctuations from opening and closing the doors to the fridge, speed up spoilage.

Why Does My Coquito Have Foam and/or Chunks?

The chunks (or lumps) in the coquito are from coconut fat in the cream of coconut. You see that layer of fat when you open up some cans of cream of coconut. Shaking the can of cream of coconut and warming it with the spice tea will reduce the chunkiness.

The foam results from the additives in the canned milk, and the fat from the coconut milk gets excited. You can strain the coquito into the bottles if the foam or chunks bother you.

How Do I Store It?

The best thing about this recipe is that it fills 3 bottles. I store mine in 750-milliliter wine bottles that I buy from a local home brewing supply store or online. Using a decorative, airtight glass bottle is a fun way to gift this coquito to your friends and family, too. Most people couldn’t care less about decorative bottles but more about what’s in them.

Sanitize the bottles by pouring in hot water and leaving them for 10 minutes.

I add two or three cinnamon sticks to my bottles because cinnamon is a prominent flavor in coquito. Pour the hot water from the bottles, then add two or three cinnamon sticks. You can omit them if you don’t keep cinnamon sticks on hand.

Put a fine-mesh sieve lined with a clean tea towel on a funnel. Straining the coquito through the towel and sieve before curing it reduces clumping in it later.

Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer and into the bottles using the funnel. Leave a 1-inch headspace at the top of each bottle of coquito so you can shake the spices back into it later.

Refrigerate and let the coquito chill for atleastforty-eight hours to allow the flavors to blend and the alcohol flavor to mellow out. I wouldn’t drink coquito the same day you make it, though. It’s always better the next day or a couple of days later.

How Do I Serve Coquito?

To serve coquito, remove the bottle from the refrigerator and give it a good shake to reincorporate the spices. When using fresh coconut milk, a small amount of separation occurs because it doesn’t contain the stabilizers as canned coconut milk. Shaking sets everything back in place.

You can serve coquito over ice, but I don’t because it waters down the drink, and I’m trying to get as much of that flavor as possible.

Serve the coquito in old-fashioned glasses with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or grated from cinnamon sticks. To impress coconut lovers, dip the rim of your co*cktail glass in a small amount of maple syrup, followed by a dip in coconut flakes to create a coconut rim.

We don’t do all that in our family. The best part is what comesoutof the glass, not what it looks like.

How Long Does Coquito Last?

You can store coquito made with alcohol in the fridge for up to 1 year, evenwith the addition of eggs.The longer the coquito cures, the smoother and more profound its flavor is, as with traditional eggnog.

Coquito madewithoutalcohol should be consumed within a week, or 7 days, of mixing it.

Can I Freeze Coquito?

Coquito that contains alcohol can be frozen for more than one year in a freezer-safe bottle or airtight container. The alcohol in the drink will keep it from freezing solid, and the consistency will be more like a milkshake.

Virgin coquitowillfreeze solid, so store it in a freezer-safe container for up to one year.

Thaw frozen coquito in the fridge when you’re ready to enjoy it, and don’t forget to shake it well to mix it evenly.

You should try this Coquito Frozen Custardrecipe if you’re into frozen coquito. It’s like a homemade coconut ice cream, only better.

What Other Ways Can I Enjoy This Recipe?

I’m thequeenof coquito recipes. Here are some other recipes to use it in:

• CoquitoTres Lechesis a Puerto Rican version of one of Latin America’s traditional dishes.
• This Coquito Cheesecakehas a cult following.
• Coconut-Rum Cream Piehas the flavors you know and love from the co*cktail.

Here is a post withallmyCoquito Recipes.

With its tropical element of coconut, generous pours of rum, and warm spices, my Authentic Coquito recipe is one I’m proud to share with you and your family this time of year. Christmas Eve isn’t the same without this classic Puerto Rican drink, and it’s one of the easiest recipes you’ll make this holiday season. Remember to share this authentic, original recipe and share it with your friends and family this holiday season. Pin this recipe to find it easily for your Christmas batch, too!